Before we go sailing...

After leaving the boat for over three months, at least one of which the boat was literally iced-in, we had a fair amount of spring time commissioning to do before going sailing. Overall, Positive Waves was as good as new as soon as we opened the main cabin door, but there were a number of systems that Hans winterized back in January that we needed to get back online. He drained the fresh water lines, for example, so they didn't freeze and split in the below zero temperatures. Sails came down, gas was turned off, and more.

Little Boat Projects

We spent about a week in Smögen getting the boat back up and running, including a few trips to the store to fill the fridge and lockers with fresh food. There were no big surprises, thankfully, and we were able to tick jobs off the list quickly. Although we had friends watching over PW diligently the whole time we were gone and we knew that Hans did a thorough job winterizing, it was still nerve wracking sitting in St. Croix watching the boat get iced-in. It was a huge relief to get back aboard and turn everything on as if we had just left for a week in the summer. 

One reason I went up the mast was to add some set screws to the foil for the foreward roller furling. When we took the sails down in January, one of the set screws had worked its way loose. I had to go up the forestay to screw it back in ... I should have used loctite but the temps were around zero and I wanted to get the job done as quickly as possible. Of course over the past few months that set screw worked its way out, so before bending on the sails I had to go up and screw it back in, this time with loctite. Turns out another screw had fallen out, so Hans ran over to the marine store to get new ones. And, like all best boating projects, they weren't correct and we had to source new ones from a rigger in Gothenburg. Luckily, a sailor interested in the Boreals was driving up to Smögen to take a look at PW; he stopped at the rigger and picked up the set screws for us.

A trip up the mast to check the rig - an imperative safety job. This is the block for the spinnaker halyard - looks like we need to add some seizing wire.

 

 

Classic Freja: her room was 100% tidy and situated exactly like she wanted within 30 minutes of being back aboard. After over 30 hours of travel!

Bending on the sails.

They're rather large!

Another "chase down a random part" boating project. We have a beautiful Magma grill and a direct hose from our main propane tanks. BUT, the hose was installed in France, we bought the grill in the UK, and we're now in Sweden. All fittings in all three countries are different and Hans has been working to get the grill directly connected to our tanks. With propane, it seems like every country wants to reinvent the wheel. For now we're just using the baby camping cans of propane.

The fridge runs and runs and runs. Much to the kids' amusement, I hung upside down in the fridge to snap this picture of the thermostat sensor cable to confirm that it is properly installed.

After a few phone calls with Dometic, they agreed that we need a new thermostat. One is on its way to us, via Hans's sister.

Jet lag + northern summer light

Getting adjusted to Swedish time and conquering jet lag is even more difficult when the sun rises before 5AM and doesn't set until after 10PM. True darkness doesn't exist this time of year at these high latitudes so we've been getting creative blocking the light out at bedtime. It's no problem for Matilda since she has 101 stuffed animals that are easily stuffed in port holes; a couple fenders strategically propped outside of Freja's windows block enough of the light for her. We find that we're not eating dinner till at least 8PM and bedtime for the kids doesn't happen till around 10PM. It's certainly a different routine from the wintertime when we were eating dinner by 5PM and usually in bed before 8PM. 

Hans and I look away for a minute (or a few hours as we scrubbed the topsides), and the kids are playing a new game. Prisoner? Hostage?

Or Matilda just goes upside down.

Happily home again

We are all so happy to be back aboard, to be back home. You can feel contentment on the boat as the kids naturally fall into their games and find their cozy spots. They have little motivation to venture off the boat as they have missed being in their own space. Freja spends a lot of time reading and drawing; Matilda puts in hours and hours of Lego building while listening to her music. We've continued with schoolwork since we got back aboard, but it's the bare minimum now. Both kids have finished their math books for their respective grades and are working on a end of the year mapping project. Hans and I appreciate their self-directed entertainment and busy-ness since it affords us time to get the boat back online and ready to sail.

Positive Waves feels both like home at times and very new at others. Simple things like, "do we have a box grater," to "where in the world did I store the sheets," to "which line is the main halyard?" (Okay, kidding/not kidding about that last one.) It's a little like a new learning curve wherein the unfamiliar is suddenly very familiar, because we know where everything is on the boat and how it all works, but just barely. We were only aboard for six months before leaving for over 3, and we only actively sailed for about 3 1/2 of those 6 months. We still have a lot of learning to do, a lot of systems and routines to create and memorize, and a lot of "where the heck is XYZ?!" before we can handle and live on the boat like second nature.